9.2: Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders - Epidemiology

Learning Objectives

• Describe the epidemiology of OCD.
• Describe the epidemiology of body dysmorphic disorder.
• Describe the epidemiology of hoarding disorder.

OCD

The prevalence rate for OCD is approximately 1.2% both in the U.S. and worldwide (APA, 2022). Women are diagnosed with OCD more often than males; however, in childhood, boys are diagnosed more frequently than girls (APA, 2022). With respect to gender and symptoms, females are more likely to be diagnosed with cleaning related obsessions and compulsions. In contrast, males are more likely to display symptoms related to forbidden thoughts and symmetry (APA, 2022). The DSM-5-TR reports that the mean age of onset of OCD is 19.5 years with a quarter of cases starting by 14 years of age. Additionally, males have an earlier age of onset (5-15 yrs.) compared to females (20-24 yrs.; Rasmussen & Eisen, 1990).

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

The point prevalence rate for body dysmorphic disorder among U.S. adults is 2.4% while outside the U.S., the point prevalence is 1.7% to 2.9%. Gender-based prevalence rates indicate that women are more likely to be diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder than men, though muscle dysmorphia is diagnosed more frequently in men. Additionally, women are more likely to be preoccupied with weight, breasts, buttocks, legs, hips, and excessive body or facial hair while men have preoccupations with their genitals, body build, and thinning hair (APA, 2022).

Hoarding Disorder

While national studies on the prevalence rate of hoarding within the U.S. and internationally are not available, community surveys estimate clinically significant hoarding as occurring in 1.5% to 6.0% of the population (APA, 2022; Gilliam & Tolin, 2010). Clinical samples are more highly represented by females than males and older individuals (over the age of 65 years) are three times more likely to be diagnosed with hoarding disorder than younger adults.

Key Takeaways

You should have learned the following in this section:

• The prevalence rate for OCD is about 1.2% while body dysmorphic disorder is 2.4% and hoarding is estimated at 1.5% to 6%.
• In terms of gender, females are more likely to be diagnosed with the three disorders, though in terms of body dysmorphic disorder, males receive the muscle dysmorphia specifier more than females.
• Gender differences are also present for symptom presentation in OCD and the area of the body focused on in body dysmorphic disorder.

Review Questions

1. What are the key gender differences related to OCD and body dysmorphic disorder?
2. How do the prevalence rate of the three disorders compare?